Noni B slumps on profit outlook

Colin Kruger

Noni B shares fell more than 12 per cent during trading today after the retail fashion group announced it expects to report an after-tax profit in the range $1.7 million – $1.9 million for the first half of the 2013 financial year, compared with $2.4 million for the prior first half which included an extra weeks trading.

Shares dropped as low as 76 cents - down 12.6 per cent - following the announcement.

David Kindl, joint managing director, said: “We plan to maintain staffing levels and investment in training so we can continue to improve the personalised service we offer. We believe retailers who are committed to the development of their people will be best placed for long-term growth, both instore and online.”

The company said sales were in line with the previous year, despite one less week’s trading.

Noni B currently operates 219 stores compared with 214 this time last year when Noni B surprised the market with a profit upgrade.

The company’s shares, which were trading below 40 cents at the time have doubled over the past year as it improved earnings despite flat sales.

For the 2012 financial year, Noni B reported a net profit of $2.7 million despite sales only rising two per cent to $119.7 million for the year, thanks to improvements on its net profit margin.

At Noni B’s shareholders meeting in November last year chairman Lynn Wood said there was room for improvement despite last year’s earnings increase but warned that first half results would depend on the critical pre-Christmas trading period.

Noni B’s audited results for the first half of 2013 will be announced on February 13.